Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Revelation 7
Eternal Praise

Eternal Praise

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Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. 

Psalm 43:5  

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ 

Revelation 7:9-10 

What would the future praise the psalmist anticipated look like? John answers that question for us. He describes the scene in heaven where Christ sits upon the throne. Gathered around Him are all the redeemed of all ages, ‘a great multitude which no one could number.’ They are, ‘of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues.’ Their occupation and preoccupation is offering praise ‘to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’ Regardless of whatever might occur in the life of the psalmist who found himself downcast, this was his final destination. It is good for us to realize that our final destination as believers in Christ is to gather around the throne of God to praise Him and the Lamb in the eternal kingdom. Our experience may bring many occasions when we are downcast. We look to Christ as the solution for our bouts of depression. Having saved us by free and sovereign grace, He has secured for us a future in which we shall see Him in Person and praise Him without end. Today is not the end or even close to it. Christ and eternity awaits. 

High King of Heaven, 
we rejoice that You sit upon Your throne. 
We praise You that we can look forward to the day 
when we can praise you Face-to-face for all eternity. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
A Great Multitude

A Great Multitude

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He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. 
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, 
For He shall bear their iniquities. 

Isaiah 53:11 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 

Revelation 7:9-10 

Christ’s work of redemption is a large work. We do Him a disservice by relegating it to a being for a small group. While we may apply the ‘few there be that find it’ to a given moment of history and a specific context, when we take the broad view over the course of history we arrive at the conclusion that He redeems ‘a great multitude.’ He is abundantly inclusive in His redemption. These are people, ‘of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.’ Christ has shed His blood ‘for many, for the remission of sins.’ Therefore, because we see this great multitude gathered around the Throne of Grace, we conclude that Christ is abundantly satisfied with the results of ‘the labor of His soul.’ He came ‘to seek and to save that which was lost.’ He laid down His life and endured great anguish in the spiritual birthing of His people. He is abundantly satisfied with the success of His work. He speaks to His redeemed directly from His Judgment Throne and says, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Christ, seeing the end from the beginning, and the joy that was set before Him, endured the suffering, rose from the dead, and sits upon His Throne abundantly satisfied. 

Our Glorious, Saving God, 
we rejoice in Your Grand Redemption. 
We praise You that You will save a great multitude, 
and that Christ shall have first place. 
Eternal Praise

Eternal Praise

By |

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God. 

Psalm 43:5  

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ 

Revelation 7:9-10 

What would the future praise the psalmist anticipated look like? John answers that question for us. He describes the scene in heaven where Christ sits upon the throne. Gathered around Him are all the redeemed of all ages, ‘a great multitude which no one could number.’ They are, ‘of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues.’ Their occupation and preoccupation is offering praise ‘to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’ Regardless of whatever might occur in the life of the psalmist who found himself downcast, this was his final destination. It is good for us to realize that our final destination as believers in Christ is to gather around the throne of God to praise Him and the Lamb in the eternal kingdom. Our experience may bring many occasions when we are downcast. We look to Christ as the solution for our bouts of depression. Having saved us by free and sovereign grace, He has secured for us a future in which we shall see Him in Person and praise Him without end. Today is not the end or even close to it. Christ and eternity awaits. 

High King of Heaven, 
we rejoice that You sit upon Your throne. 
We praise You that we can look forward to the day 
when we can praise you Face-to-face for all eternity. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
A Great Multitude

A Great Multitude

By |

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. 
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, 
For He shall bear their iniquities. 

Isaiah 53:11 

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 

Revelation 7:9-10 

Christ’s work of redemption is a large work. We do Him a disservice by relegating it to a being for a small group. While we may apply the ‘few there be that find it’ to a given moment of history and a specific context, when we take the broad view over the course of history we arrive at the conclusion that He redeems ‘a great multitude.’ He is abundantly inclusive in His redemption. These are people, ‘of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.’ Christ has shed His blood ‘for many, for the remission of sins.’ Therefore, because we see this great multitude gathered around the Throne of Grace, we conclude that Christ is abundantly satisfied with the results of ‘the labor of His soul.’ He came ‘to seek and to save that which was lost.’ He laid down His life and endured great anguish in the spiritual birthing of His people. He is abundantly satisfied with the success of His work. He speaks to His redeemed directly from His Judgment Throne and says, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Christ, seeing the end from the beginning, and the joy that was set before Him, endured the suffering, rose from the dead, and sits upon His Throne abundantly satisfied. 

Our Glorious, Saving God, 
we rejoice in Your Grand Redemption. 
We praise You that You will save a great multitude, 
and that Christ shall have first place. 
What Unifies Us

What Unifies Us

By |

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne; and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.

Revelation 7:9-10

What unifies the people of God?  We come from diverse cultures, eras, and traditions.  We vary in personality, education, and preferences.  We are naturally inclined to disunity rather than unity.  What then truly unites us?  Our text today points to the answer.  John describes the congregation of all of the redeemed in heaven.  He speaks of them as, ‘a great multitude which no man can number.’  They gather around the Throne of Christ.  They praise and worship Him.  They exclaim, ‘salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’  Herein lies the answer to what unites the people of God.  Christ unites us.  We understand that we may be diverse in many other ways.  We may even disagree about points of theology, means, and methods.  On this, however, we unite, that salvation is of God, that Christ is the Lamb of God, Who takes away sin, and that He is worthy of all the praise.  The rest of what we think and do flows from these basic points of agreement.  When we come to discuss the unity of believers, we must begin with Christ.  He is at the very heart of all that unites us.  Worthy is the Lamb.

Our Gracious God and Our Savior,
we rejoice that You draw all of Your people together.
We praise You that as we look to You,
we find ourselves drawn closer
both to You and to one another.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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